ABD to help build HCM City’s third ring road

Hanoi (VNA) – The Asian Development Bank
(ADB) signed an agreement on December 21 to provide transaction
advisory services to the Ministry of Transport (MOT) for Ho Chi Minh City’s Third
Ring Road project.

The document was signed by
Nguyen Ngoc Dong, MOT Deputy Minister of Transport and Eric Sidgwick, ADB’s
Country Director for Vietnam.

Under the agreement,
ADB’s Public-Private Partnership Office will support the MOT in the development of a bankable
public-private partnership (PPP) structure for the project to enable leveraging
of private investments.

This assistance will complement the government's ongoing project
preparation activities supported by ADB and thereby promote optimal use of public
and private sector investment.

“There is a need to increasingly mobilise resources from private
sector and better coordinate project preparation to develop bankable PPP
projects in Vietnam,” said Sidgwick. “A greater role for PPPs should be
considered for infrastructure projects and impediments to the development of
PPP transactions should continue to be identified and addressed.”

Ho Chi Minh City is the country’s major economic hub, serving key industries
and growing population. However, roads around the city are heavily congested,
travel speeds are slowing and, as a result, transport costs are rising.

The third ring road, to be constructed at a radius of 25 kilometers from the
city centre, will facilitate the diversion of through traffic and reduce
traffic congestion in HCM City.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and
the Pacific through inclusive economic growth,
environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. It was established
in 1966 and is owned by 67 members with 48 from the region. In
2015, ADB assistance totaled 27.2 billion USD, including cofinancing of 10.7
billion USD.-VNA